Reviewed by USGSRussia34y ago
M4.8 earthquake 217 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia
Sunday, July 5, 1992, 08:49:51 UTC · 45.098°N, 150.642°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 217 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia on Sunday, July 5, 1992, 08:49:51 UTC, at a depth of 51.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on June 20, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 51 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
70 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
51 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on July 17, 1992. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,153 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.51963 Kuril Islands EarthquakeOctober 13, 1963 · 95 km W of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 184 km W of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 291 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 132 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 110 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 42 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6248 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 22, 1991 · 57 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 170 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 30 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 35 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1918M8.3
Kuril Islands
7 Sep 1918 · 81 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 49 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 177 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1969M8.2
Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye
11 Aug 1969 · 274 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1963M8.5
Kuril Islands
13 Oct 1963 · 76 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1937M7.6
Kuril Islands
21 Feb 1937 · 118 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.